This invention relates to circuit communications systems. Specifically, this invention is more particularly directed towards a method and apparatus for transporting and aligning data across multiple serial data streams.
Speeds of computer systems have been constantly increasing. As technology improves, computer system designers and engineers constantly struggle to integrate the latest advances. For example, the foundation of all current computer systems is the integrated circuit (IC). Typically, most designs call for one or more ICs to be in communication over one or more buses or links.
Generally, the faster the computer systems are required to perform, the higher the bandwidth requirements are between the different ICs in the system. This applies to all computer systems, such as personal computers, network systems, and embedded systems. For example, in a network system such as a network switch, data may need to be communicated at rates as high as the gigabits per second level. This means that for network switches to communicate with other network switches and network devices at these levels, network switches must process information internally at many times the speed at which data is transmitted or received in the network.
Achieving high communications speed between ICs is instrumental in making high performance systems. One solution is to increase the speed at which ICs communicate with each other over a serial link. However, as the internal operating speeds of ICs are increasing at a much greater rate than may be handled by advances in communication technology, using a single serial link becomes a limitation in IC to IC communications. Multiple serial links may be used to transfer more data between ICs, but mismatches in the alignment in data and other problems limit the speed at which data may be transferred. Therefore, there is a need for providing a robust and effective way to aggregate bandwidths of multiple serial links in order to create very high bandwidths for IC to IC communication.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for transporting and aligning data across a set of serial data streams. The method includes creating a predetermined number of data streams from a first data stream. The first data stream has a first predetermined bit width and each data stream of the predetermined number of data streams has a second predetermined bit width smaller than the first predetermined bit width. In addition, the method includes inserting an alignment pattern in each of the predetermined number of smaller data streams. The predetermined number of smaller data streams are combinable into a data stream having the first predetermined bit width based on the alignment pattern. The method also includes preparing the predetermined number of smaller data streams for transmission. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.